BBC to cut down more than 2000 jobs

London, Oct 9 (UNI) The BBC is going to downsize at least 12 per cent of its workforce, leaving more than 2000 people jobless, a report said today.

The decision was made following the bulk of losses in the factual programming that the company had to bear. The total number of job losses could approach 2,800 as the BBC Director General Mark Thompson attempts to plug a two billion pounds budget shortfall.

A Senior staff had been told redundancies will top the 2,000 mark, with one person ''familiar with the situation'' saying it could be closer to 3,000, Financial Times reported.

Mr Thompson is bidding to seek cuts amounting to 6 per cent of the corporation's annual three billion pounds budget for each of the next five years.

He will outline his plans to the BBC Trust on October 17, with an announcement to staff expected on the following day.

Mr Thompson has resisted calls to make the savings by closing down one of the corporation's services, such as BBC3 or BBC4, and will make the cuts within existing departments, according to the paper.

The prospect of four-figure job losses will further damage morale at the corporation, at its lowest ebb since the Hutton report in the wake of the successive fakery scandals and the departure last week of the BBC1 controller Peter Fincham.